I need a beam saw

Sedici · April 27, 2016, 11:10:54 PM

I've been on the look out for a decent used makita 5402a on eBay and Craig's list. With some patience I'm sure I would eventually get one as I know I'm not the only guy looking. But, as many might relate, I don't have a lot of time to wait and watch for three days and then be out bid at the last second! im sure I'll waist more time trying to win a good saw but is there reseller or adds that I can check out that specifies in timber framing tools like this. I didn't notice any adds for one on sale here

dukndog · April 28, 2016, 08:08:23 AM

First...Welcome to the forum Sedici!!
Second...where are you located? Some members may "loan" or "rent" tools to help you out, but they would want to know where you are located.

Good Luck!!

Rich Miller

S.Hyland · April 28, 2016, 09:31:09 AM

If I was to only have one saw for timber framing, I would have a 10 1/4" saw. They are so much lighter and easier to handle, as well as being a lot cheaper! I have a Makita 5402 but I only use it rarely in the shop.
Makita and Milwaukee both make a good 10 1/4" saw. I have two of the Milwaukees in the shop and have been very happy with them. One of them is over 7 years old and still going well on a new set of bearings. If you do look at the Milwaukees make sure you don't get the older style with the vertical height adjustment. That style does not stay square well.

logman · April 28, 2016, 10:33:38 AM

I agree with S. Hyland. I use my 16" Makita very little. I use my Bigfoot as my main saw on large timbers.

stumax · April 28, 2016, 11:01:42 AM

I can third the comment: I have a 16 inch beam saw, but I would have rather had the 10 inch. The 16 inch cuts nice, but it is heavy and a little awkward to use. In building a barn i have used the beam saw for a total of 6 cuts. I ended up using my 7 1/4 dewalt a ton of times. If you are looking for a cheaper option get a worm drive and buy the beam cutter chainsaw attachment. The initial start of the cut is rough, but it will cut a straight accurate line.

ex-Engineer Wannabe · April 28, 2016, 12:47:37 PM

Not sure about the negative sentiments regarding the big Makita 5402NA. Yes, the factory base plate is junk, but that's why we had an aluminum upgrade fabricated for the saw -- and it cuts timbers like butter.

We also own the Milwaukee 10-1/4 saw and, quite frankly, I don't see the parallel. The depth of cut offered by the big Makita, alone, makes it a very important part of any joint cutter's tool lineup...and, by the way, the Milwaukee is another saw that could benefit greatly from a base plate upgrade.

Be it our TF housing router, our big hollow chisel mortiser or our many cordless tools, Makita has proven to be our best brand, overall. Yes, we enjoy our Mafell TF tools, as well, but who can possibly afford anything close to a "line" of their tools?

As my Irish relatives would say: Those are my tots...

Dave Shepard · April 28, 2016, 12:55:26 PM

Are the aluminum bases still available for the Big Mak? They are little more than a crude docking saw with the stock base. A 10 inch saw would be nice, if it could cut 4 inches deep.

ex-Engineer Wannabe · April 28, 2016, 01:10:48 PM

Quote from: Dave Shepard on April 28, 2016, 12:55:26 PM
Are the aluminum bases still available for the Big Mak? They are little more than a crude docking saw with the stock base. A 10 inch saw would be nice, if it could cut 4 inches deep.

And therein lies the problem. The Milwaukee 10-1/4 is a pretty good saw, once again, but it doesn't quite manage the cardinal 4" depth of cut...perhaps with a base upgrade?

As for the base on our big Makita...ours was custom fabricated by a highly-skilled "micro welder" we know. It seems to me that the guild used to offer a good base for the Makita 5402NA, but I'm not sure if they still do.

Jim_Rogers · April 28, 2016, 05:18:56 PM

I was notified a while ago that the guild will no longer be selling tools, once all inventory is gone.

Jim Rogers

Sedici · April 28, 2016, 10:26:09 PM

Thanks everyone for your thoughts and I couldn't agree more. The blue model 5402NA is a beast and I always say go big if you can. On the other hand the 10 1/4 model 5201-NA is a really nice saw that will be more easily used and possibly more often. I actually found a brand new 10 1/4" older all metal model for $500 and a gently used 16" new version model for $550.
I also was looking into upgrading the base through the forum but looks like they are only available for the 10 1/4 and not providing them any longer for the 16". I did get an email from Megan saying that a small batch for the 16" may be available in the future. And by the way Wannabe that makita and base you have looks Very Nice!
So I'm a bit conflicted but happy to have options. Thanks for the warm welcome to the forum guys.
Yes I'm a newbie from Tennessee

logman · April 28, 2016, 11:34:08 PM

I wasn't trying to be negative about the Makita, I use it when I need to. I just prefer to use my 10" since you have to make 2 cuts anyway. I thought I got an email not too long ago from the Guild saying they were taking orders for the base plates.

shinnlinger · April 29, 2016, 02:57:10 PM

If you only need one once in a while.... https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php/topic,34391.msg503007/topicseen.html#msg503007

Carpenter · May 02, 2016, 02:28:14 AM

I really like my Skill 10" saw. But, I've used a worm drive saw so much, it's hard for me to use anything else. My only complaint about it is the blade that came with it. It was a Diablo blade, fine quality, but it wobbled. I put a regular table saw blade in it, and it cuts great. Skill also makes a 14" saw. I might get one of those some day, but for now I'm happy with the 10" saw. With the 10" table saw blade it only cuts 3 3/4" so I do have to finish a few cuts with a handsaw.

Sedici · May 07, 2016, 10:13:50 PM

I used the skill 10 1/4 sawsquach. I liked it but it also had the Diablo blade with a diamond cut out in the center. The saw requires a diamond pattern cut out in the center to fit the arbor on the saw. So your stuck with the wobbling Diablo or can go with big foots blade which I'm not sure if it's much better. Bad design won't buy that.

Carpenter · May 08, 2016, 01:25:44 AM

The diamond is a knock out. It's hard to see, at first glance. But, a lot of 10" blades have the diamond knock out as an option. So, you're not stuck with the Diablo blade. I agree about the Diablo blade, I was ready to send the saw back until I tried a different blade. I've got an Irwin 40t blade on my saw, it's just an off the shelf blade I happened to have around. I didn't realize those blades came with a knock out until I looked. I'll have to look at my other blades, but all of the Irwin blades I looked at have the knock out.

Sedici · May 10, 2016, 11:21:43 PM

What's your opinion of the Sawquatch after replacing the blade? do you prefer a worm drive any how? Would appreciate a non bias opinion. It looks like a well built saw but could be a pain to end cut tenons

Carpenter · May 14, 2016, 12:22:11 AM

I am biased towards a worm drive saw. I've used a side winder enough to be somewhat proficient with one, but, when I started using a worm drive and could actually see right where the blade was cutting the difference was night and day.

I used the saw to cut a post yesterday and since you asked about it I snapped a few pictures.

I knifed the lines. Some people stay back from the lines, I like to cut right on the line. If it starts to tear the fibers on the other side of the knifed line I back off. As you can see, towards the end of the cut I did lift a few fibers.

The side of the timber that I entered.

And this is the exit side.

All pretty well on the knifed line. So, you can see that the saw can make accurate cuts. This is pretty typical as long as the timbers are true and square, of course there is some operator error once in a while as with any power tool.

As far as end cutting tenons, I don't find it to be very difficult. I use the drop cut method for a straight tenon and for the braces or anything with an angle, I push up from the bottom. To do the drop cut, I just put the cord over my shoulder and hold the front handle of the saw with my right hand and trigger it with my pinkey on the left hand. By doing this it naturally puts my right elbow in my hip so I use my hip to steady my right hand to guide the saw. It's intimidating the first few times you do it but a pretty accurate method. Here's a picture of a tenon that I roughed out with a drop cut.

You can see that the cut on the left side is right on the line, the one on the right at the very end I cut over the line just a bit. The cut on the right was actually the exit cut as I rolled the timber between cuts so that my saw was on the left side of the line for both cuts. The tenon trued up nicely very quickly.

The bad news is that there is more vibration with the table saw blade than there was with the Diablo blade. You don't feel it in the cut, just on start up there is more vibration than there is in my HD77 or the Sasquatch with the thinner Diablo blade. I checked my other table saw blades, and I found out that they do not all have a knock out, which is too bad, I would like to try a higher quality blade and see if that would take care of the vibration issue. All of the Irwin blades I've got have the knock out capability.

So, there you have it in a nut shell. lol, my biased or unbiased opinion. I don't really care about brands so much, Skil was the original though. I see that they've been bought out by Bosch and that the saws are now made in China.

Sedici · May 18, 2016, 10:40:57 PM

Hey carpenter! Thanks for your info. Your dialed in well with that thing. It's good to know that I can get a better blade on that saw. It would be an adjustment going to it but I do think it's a better setup. I have found a couple good deals and picked up a 16" makita 5402-A and a makita 10-1/4" 5104. I'm not specifically partial to makita but they make a good product and am happy with them so far.

logman · May 19, 2016, 07:56:48 PM

I made the mistake of buying one of those Diablo blades for my Bigfoot. The original blade that came with my Bigfoot is about twice the thickness of the Diablo and didn't wobble like the Diablo does. I've also used 10" Irwin blades and they work ok but are twice the thickness of the original Bigfoot blade. I'll be ordering the Bigfoot blade when I need a new one.

Carpenter · May 20, 2016, 12:52:38 AM

Quote from: logman on May 19, 2016, 07:56:48 PM
I made the mistake of buying one of those Diablo blades for my Bigfoot. The original blade that came with my Bigfoot is about twice the thickness of the Diablo and didn't wobble like the Diablo does. I've also used 10" Irwin blades and they work ok but are twice the thickness of the original Bigfoot blade. I'll be ordering the Bigfoot blade when I need a new one.

Thanks for the tip. I'll have to try a Bigfoot blade. I checked them out on line and they look totally different than the Diablo blade. If they've got a thicker plate, that just might be the ticket.